Many hospitals in England are reporting to have been hit by a large-scale cyber-attack which has denied them access to their computer systems.

The affected hospitals were forced to divert emergency patients and redirect ambulances to other hospitals. According to The Guardian, doctors have reported receiving messages on their computers demanding money in exchange for PC access.

A spokesman for the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen university hospitals trust said it was "aware that there's an issue nationally and we're reviewing our IT systems".